ounded with a commitment to democratic values, NATO today finds interoperability in shared democratic governance as much as through technical compatibility in weapons systems. The parties to the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty united to "…safeguard the freedom, common heritage, and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law."
As its member states gather in July 2023 in Vilnius, the NATO alliance is firm in opposing the Kremlin's war on Ukraine and attack on the international rules-based order. NATO is also expanding because of another critical component of its mission: unity through democratic values.
Research commissioned by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2017 shows that more than any other system of governance, democracy delivers security. Publicly accountable governments rarely start wars, while regimes that run roughshod over their people are indifferent to other peoples' rights.
This principle of democratic governance and its effect on security and peace is evident in the example found in the first meeting of the Community of Democracies, in Poland in 2000. Among the 106 nations gathered then that went on to adopt the 19 principles of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in the Community’s founding document, the Warsaw Declaration, were the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Yet almost immediately, the paths taken by Moscow and Kyiv diverged sharply. Vladimir Putin tightened his chokehold over Russia through years of worsening autocracy and wars in Chechnya and Georgia. The route taken by Ukraine, despite starts and stops in the 23 years since, sought adherence to the Warsaw Declaration and has led it to Vilnius and potentially an eventual, well-deserved NATO membership.
Shortly after I was elected Secretary General of the Community of Democracies in 2017, a foreign minister in Eastern Europe asked me if I thought democratic principles were themselves an adequate foundation for a democratic alliance. His obvious doubt was well taken at a time of growing acrimony between the U.S. and NATO allies on budgets and other issues.
Today, some 500+ days into Russia's war, I find significantly less doubt that values such as human rights and democracy belong in security and foreign policy discussions. This point was made to me very recently, in a June 2023 discussion with a foreign minister whose country meets the NATO 2% defense spending threshold, as he cited Bucha, mass child abductions, and the catastrophic attacks on civilian infrastructure as reasons democratic nations in Europe needed to support Ukraine.
Solidarity activist Professor Bronislaw Geremek, speaking at the time as Poland’s foreign minister, said in 2000 “…that democracy is by no means a process that goes from triumph to triumph.” This has been true for NATO member states over its seven decades of existence. Populism and isolationism are two of the threats which has brought home the challenge of a lack of mechanism to sanction internal backsliding. It is true electoral change occurs in democratic countries, bringing course corrections in policy, and this is accurate within NATO member states.
One specific means for NATO to accomplish its task of collective security is to encourage democracy within and outside the organization. "Two percent GDP for defense and 100% for democracy" was Secretary Madeleine Albright's message for NATO countries in a note to me following one of her always-impactful visits to Europe a few years ago. The Vilnius Summit is a critical time to address the vulnerability of organizations through the finalization of steps that establish the Centre for Democratic Resilience within NATO HQ. Based on the ever-present danger to democracy, Geremek said the best means of addressing democratic erosion was for democracies to support one another through best practices and lessons learned. The proposed Centre for Democratic Resilience, on the agenda for the Vilnius Summit, is precisely this style of voluntary, non-prescriptive support that is required.
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In Vilnius, 2% for Defense and 100% for Democracy
Photo by Robert Noreiko on Unsplash
July 6, 2023
NATO was founded on democratic values, and healthy democratic institutions are key to our continued security. As it looks to the future, NATO must remember its critical role in resisting the erosion democracy within and outside its membership, writes Community of Democracy's Thomas Garrett.
F
ounded with a commitment to democratic values, NATO today finds interoperability in shared democratic governance as much as through technical compatibility in weapons systems. The parties to the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty united to "…safeguard the freedom, common heritage, and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law."
As its member states gather in July 2023 in Vilnius, the NATO alliance is firm in opposing the Kremlin's war on Ukraine and attack on the international rules-based order. NATO is also expanding because of another critical component of its mission: unity through democratic values.
Research commissioned by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2017 shows that more than any other system of governance, democracy delivers security. Publicly accountable governments rarely start wars, while regimes that run roughshod over their people are indifferent to other peoples' rights.
This principle of democratic governance and its effect on security and peace is evident in the example found in the first meeting of the Community of Democracies, in Poland in 2000. Among the 106 nations gathered then that went on to adopt the 19 principles of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in the Community’s founding document, the Warsaw Declaration, were the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Yet almost immediately, the paths taken by Moscow and Kyiv diverged sharply. Vladimir Putin tightened his chokehold over Russia through years of worsening autocracy and wars in Chechnya and Georgia. The route taken by Ukraine, despite starts and stops in the 23 years since, sought adherence to the Warsaw Declaration and has led it to Vilnius and potentially an eventual, well-deserved NATO membership.
Shortly after I was elected Secretary General of the Community of Democracies in 2017, a foreign minister in Eastern Europe asked me if I thought democratic principles were themselves an adequate foundation for a democratic alliance. His obvious doubt was well taken at a time of growing acrimony between the U.S. and NATO allies on budgets and other issues.
Today, some 500+ days into Russia's war, I find significantly less doubt that values such as human rights and democracy belong in security and foreign policy discussions. This point was made to me very recently, in a June 2023 discussion with a foreign minister whose country meets the NATO 2% defense spending threshold, as he cited Bucha, mass child abductions, and the catastrophic attacks on civilian infrastructure as reasons democratic nations in Europe needed to support Ukraine.
Solidarity activist Professor Bronislaw Geremek, speaking at the time as Poland’s foreign minister, said in 2000 “…that democracy is by no means a process that goes from triumph to triumph.” This has been true for NATO member states over its seven decades of existence. Populism and isolationism are two of the threats which has brought home the challenge of a lack of mechanism to sanction internal backsliding. It is true electoral change occurs in democratic countries, bringing course corrections in policy, and this is accurate within NATO member states.
One specific means for NATO to accomplish its task of collective security is to encourage democracy within and outside the organization. "Two percent GDP for defense and 100% for democracy" was Secretary Madeleine Albright's message for NATO countries in a note to me following one of her always-impactful visits to Europe a few years ago. The Vilnius Summit is a critical time to address the vulnerability of organizations through the finalization of steps that establish the Centre for Democratic Resilience within NATO HQ. Based on the ever-present danger to democracy, Geremek said the best means of addressing democratic erosion was for democracies to support one another through best practices and lessons learned. The proposed Centre for Democratic Resilience, on the agenda for the Vilnius Summit, is precisely this style of voluntary, non-prescriptive support that is required.
